Elite up for the Singh challenge

For many of the world's elite players, the winter hibernation has proven to be a short-term affair.

This week the Mercedes Championship, open only to winners of last year's tournaments, at Kapalua in Hawaii signals the opening of the new season on the US Tour where the top three players in the world rankings - Vijay Singh, Tiger Woods and Ernie Els - are all competing.

Singh accumulated almost $11 million in winning nine times on the US circuit in 2004 and assumed the world's number one mantle from Woods. Yet, before the winter break took place, Woods finally showed indications that he was returning to his best.

Having gone through the entire regular season without a strokeplay win, Woods won the Phoenix Dunlop tournament in Japan in late November by eight strokes and then finished off his season's work by fending off Padraig Harrington to win the Target World Challenge in December.

The field in the $5.3 million Mercedes championship numbers just 31 players - the most high-profile player not to take up his right to compete is US Masters champion Phil Mickelson - but, on this occasion, doesn't feature an Irish player.

A year ago, when the event was won by Australian Stuart Appleby, Darren Clarke finished third.

Clarke is expected to make his seasonal debut in the Caltex Masters in Singapore - a jointly sanctioned tournament on the European and Asian Tours - at the end of this month. Thereafter, much of the early part of his season will be taken up by playing on the US Tour where he has pencilled in appearances at the AT&T pro-am, the Nissan Open in Los Angeles, the Accenture matchplay in La Costa and the Ford Championship at Doral in Florida in a four-week stretch.

Interestingly, his fellow northerner Graeme McDowell has also opted to start his seasonal campaign in Singapore and, after finishing fifth in the Volvo Order of Merit, has decided to set his sights higher.

"All I did (in 2004) was show myself what I am capable of, what is possible when I keep my head in the right place, work with the right people and do the right things," said McDowell.

"But there is certainly a lot of room for improvement across the board. I really don't feel that I drove the ball as well as I can the last six months and, also, my wedge play from 50 to 100 yards needs a lot of work, as does my short game around the greens."

McDowell certainly has a big incentive to impact early on in the season. Already guaranteed his place in the British Open, the US PGA and the US Open this season, he is just one good week away from securing an invitation to the US Masters in April. The top 50 in the rankings the week before Augusta will earn a spot in the elite field. He is currently 55th in the world.

"If I can get off to a fast start and get into the top 50 in the world before the Masters that would be beautiful. I am really trying to force the issue early in the year and it would be a nice little bonus."

His early 2005 schedule will see him tee off the season in the Caltex Masters in Singapore, followed by the AT&T at Pebble Beach and the Accenture Matchplay. "I hope to play eight to 10 events in the US. A couple in the run-up to the US Open and a couple around the time of the US PGA. So that will add up to around 10 events and I am really excited."